Simplicity
by Midnight Raptor
Summary: Formerly "Look After You". How do you tell the one person you've allowed yourself to fall for since becoming a malipulative bastard, the three words you can't bring yourself to say? Summary sucks. Complete. Hameron. Loosely based on the song by The Fray
1. Chapter 1

Pairing: House/Cameron

Status: Two-shot, Work-in-progress

Warnings: None

A/N: Okay, so...this is my third (!!!!!!) Hameron fic. It was fun writing the other two so I had to do another one. This isn't exactly a song fic but "Look After You" by The Fray does play into the story later on. I ADORE this song so I decided to work it into a story. It actually took me a while to come up with this plot but I think I got a pretty solid story in the end (this is what happens when I force myself to come up with a story rather than have them jus come to me.) It's a two-part fic so the second part will be up soon since I'm not even done with it yet. It's a bit of a slow start but the Hameron will pick up in the next part. Anyway, read and please leave a review! ;)

Disclaimer: Don't own it...Well, I do own Wilson's allergy to mushrooms. XP But otherwise that's it.

Look After You

"You can't spend the entire night drinking, you know." came the condescending voice of James Wilson as he looked pointedly at the glass of wine in his friend's hand. "It's called 'dinner' for a reason."

"And_ you_ can't spend the entire night getting off every time Cuddy happens to look this way." House replied smoothly. "It's called 'self-control' for a reason. But then again you don't have that." Raising an eyebrow inquisitively at Wilson, House made a show of taking another huge gulp from his glass.

"I'm not-"

"It's okay, Jimmy. She's probably getting pretty lonely even with all those filthy rich benefactors swarming around her."

To make his point, House glanced at a nearby table where a clearly disgruntled Cuddy sat among several well dressed men who were each trying to get the feisty hospital administrator to warm up to them one way or another.

They were at PPTH's first Staff Talent Show Benefit Dinner. As the name implied, the staff of PPTH had prepared, auditioned, and prepared some more for the semi-formal event. The show included a variety of employees, ranging from interns to board members, all of whom had performed their own special "talent" for the entertainment (or torture) of their peers. This year, it was more for the latter as most of the acts had been absolutely horrible. In fact, they had been so horrible that two days after auditions, Cuddy had called the head of her Department of Diagnostic Medicine down to her office for a bribe.

_"I need you to perform at the talent show." she said as Greg House sauntered into her office._

_House looked suspiciously at his boss. "What talent show?"_

_"The one at the benefit dinner we're holding on the 15th."_

_"Oh, you mean the suck fest!" he exclaimed with mock surprise. " 'Cause for a second there I thought you were talking about an actual talent show. You know, with talent and everything."_

_Cuddy glared at him. "That's exactly why I need you to be in it. The auditions were a mess. Only about five people had a decent act but we obviously can't have a talent show with just five acts so we had to include the others."_

_"Well, I'm sure they can't be that bad, Cuddles. Just have your doctors do what they do best." House pretended to ponder the thought for a moment. "I know! You can have Taub up there with a corpse and have him start slicing away at every unwanted feature. That should be a real crowd pleaser."_

_"This isn't Frankenstein, House!" Cuddy snapped. Frustrated, she rubbed her temples. "I can't have this show be a complete disaster in front of all our benefactors. I need someone with actual talent up there to lessen the humiliation." She looked up at House and he could see that organizing this thing was killing her. "I've heard you on the piano. At least three songs. That's all I'm asking. I'll even give you a month off clinic duty."_

_At the words "month off clinic duty", House's ears perked up. _Damn, she must really be desperate. _After a second of deliberation, he slowly nodded. "You're on." he said and stretched out a hand for Cuddy to shake. "Three songs. No more." And with that he headed for the door._

_"House."_

_He paused at the door and looked back at his boss._

_Letting out a sigh of relief, Cuddy smiled slightly. "Thank you."_

And so he had performed tonight. Three songs just as Cuddy requested and he was on and off that stage in under 15 minutes. However, despite the bribe of a month off clinic duty, House was beginning to regret taking the offer as he was now stuck at a table with his team, Foreman, and Wilson for the next two and a half hours.

Just then, Wilson's voice broke through his chain of thoughts. "You should eat."

But House was still staring interestedly at the action going on at Cuddy's table. She was having a conversation with a skinny, balding man on her right who seemed to have had one too many glasses of wine. "They've been going at it for ages."

"Do you have any idea how much this event cost?"

"Urkel over there's been trying to get dear Cuddy to laugh for the past five minutes."

"It's 50 dollars a plate." Wilson continued.

"But all he's managed to get is a grimace and a polite but diverting question about his 85 year old mom-" Almost on cue, Cuddy's lips crinkled into what looked like something between a smile and a frown after the man had enthusiastically told her what appeared to be a joke.

"People took pay cuts to make this happen."

"-who Cuddy probably doesn't give a crap about but is the only thing that will get the idiot's mind off of how to get Cuddy in bed."

"House!"

Tearing his eyes away from Cuddy's table, House turned back to his friend and looked at him for a moment before turning his attention to Wilson's plate.

He let out a fake gasp. "And what is that?" he said, gesturing to several pieces of what appeared to be mushrooms.

"What's-"

"Little Jimmy pushing around his vegetables?" House tsked scornfully. "Didn't your mother teach you better?"

Wilson glanced at his plate. "I'm allergic to mush-"

"What about those starving children in Ethiopia? You're gonna let them die just 'cause you wouldn't eat your vegetables?"

"You're not even eating!"

"And what if they have cancer too?" House continued. "Then they can blame you even more. You're not gonna feel too good about that, will you Jimmy?"

Wilson opened his mouth to reply but instead sighed and shook his head.

Smirking, House took another drink of wine.

"At least pretend like you're eating." said Wilson after a moment.

But House wasn't listening. Instead, his focus was now on a certain blonde sitting at the next table. She looked absolutely amazing just sitting there. Her body was angled away from him so that she couldn't see him unless she turned around but that was fine with him. Having her catch him staring was probably one of the last things he wanted right now. His insides clenched suddenly as he saw her companion, a man with strikingly flawless blond hair, reach over and place a hand lightly on her arm to which she greeted with a small smile. Willing his eyes to shoot daggers at the man, House emptied his glass in one fluid motion. _That month off clinic duty better be heaven because the price I'm paying is putting me through hell_, he thought savagely. He watched them for a moment longer until he couldn't take anymore of anything that was going on around him, including those two. Especially those two. Setting his empty glass on the table, he grabbed his cane and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Wilson asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Relax, Jimmy. I'll let you have your fun with Cuddy tonight. It is, after all, her talent show." Turning around, he began to walk away, leaving behind a spluttering Wilson and an untouched plate of Salisbury steak.

-----------------------------------

Allison Cameron poked unenthusiastically at the half-eaten steak in front of her. It wasn't that it didn't taste good; in fact, it was one of the best steaks she'd ever eaten. She just didn't feel like eating anymore. It was as if the atmosphere around her was boring her so much that even eating had lost its appeal. Picking up her wine instead, she took a sip, letting the alcohol nip her throat on the way down.

The talent show had been a disaster. Well, partly. Aside from probably five or six acts, the "talent" that her colleagues had displayed was anything but that. The cover of The Goo Goo Doll's "Iris" by Jacobi from Radiology was decent, as was the cover of an old Van Halen song by a bunch of interns and another cover of Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely?" by a fellow attending at the ER, and the gymnastics demonstration by a young nurse from NICU was impressive to say the least. Those, along with a few others, were fine but the rest were a different story all together.

And then there was House's performance. He had done three songs, all classical, and with each one Cameron swore she could hear his very emotions flowing through the every note he played. She had watched, mesmerized by the fluid movement of his fingers as they danced across the keys, and had actually closed her eyes for a minute or two, allowing herself to be swept away by his music. In the three years she had worked for him, not once had she ever heard him play, something that she now regretted having heard him for the first time.

Just then, a warm hand touched her arm and she glanced at her companion, slightly surprised.

"Are you alright?" Chase asked, his Australian accent tinged with concern. His eyes flew to her half-eaten plate then back up to her eyes.

Cameron nodded and offered him a smile. "I wasn't really hungry to begin with."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Not fully convinced but not wanting to push it, Chase grinned in return and went back to chatting with a fellow surgeon.

Cameron sighed. It had been two weeks after they had broken up. Chase was a good man, a good friend. But to her, that was all he could ever be. When she had decided to take their "relationship" a step further, she thought that she could come to love him as he loved her. At first, she was patient. _It'll click. We'll make it work_, she'd tell herself. But as time went on, she knew it would never happen and deep down in her heart she knew why.

Chase was many things. He was handsome, smart, thoughtful, sweet, attentive. He held doors open for her, held her hand reassuringly if she was nervous, kissed her softly before they said goodnight. He was everything any woman could ever want and there wasn't any reason why she couldn't be as happy with him than any other man. But there was one thing he could never be and that was House. Rude, sarcastic, abrasive House. No matter how hard she tried, no matter what she did or what she said, she had never been fully able to let go of him. Maybe it was her dire need to help people. Maybe it was the fact that when she had fallen for him, she fell hard and fast. Or maybe it was both. Whatever it was, she knew it would never change and she needed Chase to know that. She couldn't have him keep on thinking that there was something between them when all along there wasn't. So she ended it.

But his reaction was not what she had expected.

_"I know." he said, after she had told him that they couldn't keep seeing each other. Looking directly into her blue-green eyes, his mouth twitched into a faint smile. "I just hope he understands why."_

Even then, she knew that Chase was referring to House. But she knew House would never understand, even though she hoped with all her heart he would.

Distracted, she began to swirl her wine glass idly in her hand. God, she hated benefit dinners.

-------------------------------

Greg House let out a relieved sigh as he stepped out into the massive courtyard. He had only been in the hotel's auditorium for an hour and yet the need for fresh air had become unbearable. Unfortunately, he could only get his month off clinic duty if he didn't leave the hotel until the dinner ended, thus forcing him to stay within the compounds for the next two and a half hours. Fortunately, Cuddy had never specified where in the hotel he had to remain.

And so here he was now, the guitar he had stolen from backstage slung around his shoulder, as he wandered through the hotel's courtyard in search for a place to sit. He smirked. Jacobi was not only an idiot for thinking that his squeaking, excuse of a voice could do The Goo Goo Dolls justice but also for leaving his spotless, Yamaha acoustic guitar on its stand for all to see. At least the interns had the sense to lock their guitars away after their performance, what with House lurking around backstage. He stepped out from behind a tree and found himself standing in the middle of an aisle of ribbon-adorned chairs. Ahead of him, was a raised platform substituting for a stage on top of which were several more chairs and a banner. Curious, he walked toward it and squinted in the dim light that the full moon offered tonight.

_Brennan Lowell  
&  
Jackie Tan  
Happily Ever After_

House snorted at the fakeness of it. Sure, he knew that women needed their lives to be some sort of living fairy tale but they didn't need to proclaim it to the whole world on a banner. Glancing at the picture of the happy couple, he sighed and stepped up onto the stage, much to the protest of his leg.

"Congratulations." he mumbled in the direction of the banner.

Setting his cane down, he lowered himself into a chair, positioning the guitar snugly under an arm, and began to play.

-----------------------------

Cameron didn't know how much more of this she could take. She didn't want to be rude and leave when the dinner was no where close to being finished but she desperately wanted to get out of that cologne-filled, steak-tainted room and get some fresh air. Sneaking a glance at her phone, she groaned when a dismal 8:45 met her eyes. There was no way she was staying in this room for another two hours.

Gathering her purse, she stood up and placed a hand on Chase's shoulder to steady herself as the two glasses of wine she had caught up to her.

At her touch, Chase looked at her, confused.

"I'm just gonna step outside for a minute." she said to answer the question that was forming in his head.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Chase's eyebrows furrowed together with concern. "You look a little pale."

Cameron nodded, backing out her chair so she could leave.

"You want me to go with you?" She shook her head. "I'll be fine. I just need some air."

Once again, Chase wasn't thoroughly convinced but decided to let it go. "Alright."

Smiling reassuringly at him, Cameron pushed in her chair and headed for the door. Having no particular route in mind, she began walking toward the direction of the lobby, the blood slowly returning to her cramped legs. Her heels clicked softly against the dark marble floor and echoed throughout the building. The hotel was dead quiet but then again it was almost nine and most people were in their rooms.

And then she heard something. It was subtle and if it hadn't been for her acute hearing, she probably would've missed it. Curious, she kept on walking and found herself looking at the hotel's courtyard through a glass wall. An open door was on her right and she stepped out into the cool night air, breathing in deep as the scent of lilacs and roses reached her nose. Standing still for a moment, she listened carefully and suddenly realized that the sound was the soft strumming on a guitar.

Almost in a trance, she edged closer to the source and as the music got louder, she recognized the song and it's soothing melody. "Delicate" by Damien Rice. Peeking out from behind a tree, she found the music"s origin perched on a stage.

And it was none other than Gregory House.

He was sitting there, head bowed, fingers strumming the nylon strings, and she could hear him softly humming along as if he was afraid to wake the hotel's inhabitants. For a moment, she just watched him, taking in the simplicity of the scene. She had never seen him so much at ease and how, while simply playing the guitar, the lines on his beaten face seemed to disappear and all his pain just faded away with the music.

Strumming harder, the song began to crescendo as it neared the end. She watched as he closed his eyes, allowing himself to be taken to a different world altogether. Then suddenly, he stopped playing for a second, before gently continuing to strum the last few measures of the song. And as it ended, the last chords he played echoed throughout the courtyard.

Cameron stood there for a moment, almost too scared to disrupt the emotion House had left hanging in the air. Then she looked at him again, his eyes still closed, head slightly bowed, and quietly began to clap.

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? Constructive criticism is really appreciated especially since I'm still trying to get House's character down. Part two coming soon and the Hameron picks up there. ;) 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here's part two! I finished really really early so I thought "What the heck?" I changed the title cuz it seemed to fit once I finished the story Also, like I said before, the song "Look After You" by The Fray plays a part in the story. But there's a particular version by Tom Meny that I jus fell in love with. Check out my profile for the link. Anyway, more angst awaits you, dear reader! XP

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own this. If I owned Hugh Laurie, I'd make it illegal for 48 year old guys to be as hot as him and if I owned The Fray I'd have Isaac Slade sing to me every day. XP

With light fingers, House delicately strummed the end of the song, allowing each note to resonate around him. And with one last flick of the wrist, the music ended, silence once again filling his ears. He sighed, willing himself to make these moments, the only time of the day when his leg seemingly stopped throbbing, to last just a while longer.

And then he heard someone clapping and his eyes shot open. There, walking toward him, her face lit by the glow of the moon, was none other than Allison Cameron.

"Bravo." she said quietly.

He watched as she came closer, taking in her slender form and cascading blond hair. She was wearing a black skirt, long enough to be modest but short enough to still be sexy, a flowing, light blue blouse that complimented her figure nicely, and heels. After three years of working together, House still wasn't completely accustomed to seeing her without her lab coat but he wasn't complaining.

"Damien Rice." she continued with a faint smile tugging on her lips. "I didn't know you were sentimental."

"I'm not. I'm tragic." he drawled. "But then again, if you're looking at this pessimistically, there's barely a difference."

Cameron scoffed and stopped in front of the stage to look at him. Sweeping her eyes over his form, she couldn't help but laugh inwardly at his appearance. Even at a semi-formal event, House still managed to get away with wearing his usual wrinkled dress shirt and one of his many rock band Ts. His pants, at least, had been changed from the blue jeans that he loved so much to a pair of black cargoes. Still, he managed to pull off his classic look that Cameron couldn't describe as anything else but ruggedly handsome.

"What're you doing here?" he asked after awhile, idly plucking strings on the guitar.

"I could ask you the same question." she answered almost challengingly. "Because I heard that you only get your month off clinic duty if you stay at the dinner 'til it ends."

House smirked and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his bad leg. "Well, see, here's the thing. During our long, bitter negotiation, Cuddy failed to specify where exactly I had to remain for the rest of the dinner, so long as I don't leave the vicinity. So," He gestured around the courtyard. "I'm still here. I'm just not in that hellhole with a bunch of 50 year olds who don't know that a good way to spend their 100 billion dollars is on hookers, scotch, and tivo."

"Beautiful." Cameron said, rolling her eyes. "You still didn't answer my question."

"_You_ didn't answer mine. And I asked first." he replied smugly.

Cameron glared at him and saw the familiar self-satisfied glint in his eyes. "I needed some air." she answered after a moment. "You?"

"I needed some air too."

They regarded each other for several seconds, the silence that hung between them comfortable and natural. Looking at her former boss pulled at Cameron's heart as she noted that his face had gone back to its usual hard, lined contours.

"You played good tonight."

House gave a slight nod in acknowledgement.

"Debussy's my favorite." she continued, referring to the composer of one of the pieces he had performed earlier.

At this, House cocked an eyebrow. "_You_ listen to Debussy? What about Hannah Fontana and all that?"

"It's 'Montana.'" Cameron corrected, amused that he would even know the teen idol. "And I'm not 10."

"Whatever."

She chuckled softly. "When I was four, my mom gave me a music box that played _Clair de Lune_. I listened to it every night before I went to bed. And I liked it so much that for Christmas one year, my parents actually got me a tape of Debussy."

"Fascinating." House deadpanned but inside was really impressed that she managed to recognize Debussy.

Another silence filled the air and House took this opportunity to study his former duckling intently. She looked older, sterner, nothing like the sympathetic, wounded-puppy dog that had walked into his office for that fateful interview almost four years ago. She had changed, grown up in a sense, after all that time working for him and he could no longer jerk her around because of it. He respected her now and maybe even more than that.

"How long have you been playing?" she asked suddenly, gesturing to the guitar.

"Since I was nine."

"I took lessons when I was 11. Quit a year later." Cameron gazed longingly at the instrument in House's hands, wishing she had his talent for music. "Now I wish I hadn't." She paused, her eyes flitting up to House's then back to the guitar. "Play something."

"What?" House asked, pretending to not have heard her.

"Play something." she repeated.

He looked at her as if she had grown an extra head. "No."

"Oh, come on, House. No one's even here."

"You already heard me play." he grumbled.

"The last 20 seconds of 'Delicate' hardly counts as hearing you play."

"So?"

"So, you love playing the guitar. It's not like I'm making you do clinic duty." she replied pointedly. "One song. I don't care what it is."

He watched as she proceeded to a chair, sat down, and looked at him, completely expecting him to start playing. "Fine." he mumbled after awhile.

Cameron beamed and crossed her legs, every ounce of her attention now on House.

He sat there for a moment, as a song he had heard on the internet popped into his head. He wasn't a big fan love songs but this one was different. Looking at Cameron and the soulful blue-green eyes that were resting intently upon him, he made up his mind and took a deep breath. There was no going back now he knew and, after shifting his gaze away from the young doctor, began to play.

_"If I don't say this now  
I will surely break  
As I'm leaving the one  
I want to take  
Forgive the urgency  
but hurry up and wait  
My heart has started to separate"_

His voice came out quiet and gentle, surprising not only himself but Cameron as well. He was taking a risk by playing this song but at the same time this was the only way he could get it out. Whatever he felt for Allison Cameron, he couldn't say, nor could he describe. All he knew was that every moment he saw her with that damn wombat made him want to tear him to pieces and every second he spent in his empty conference room late at night staring at the space where her desk had been was torture.

For the past few years, he'd been struggling with his feelings. From the moment he met her, he knew that she was different. He didn't know what it was but something about her had gotten under his skin, making him feel vulnerable and open, things that he hated feeling. There had been times when every fiber of his body had screamed at him to be human for just once in his life but in the end he'd simply ignore it. Why?

Because he was damaged.

Because he couldn't allow himself to trust anyone.

Because every single goddamn experience in his pathetic excuse of a life had had some sort of letdown, some sort of backstabbing cruelty waiting for him at the end of it all.

His father, Stacy, his leg, and now this.

He couldn't say what he needed to say to Cameron simply because of what his life had made him, what Stacy had made him. He wasn't expecting anything, knowing that if he did it'd only be another ruthless blow to add to his collection, but he needed to get this out so he was saying it now, in the only possible way he could.

_"Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
I'll look after you"_

Cameron sat there, staring in absolute astonishment at House. When he had agreed to her request, she had completely expected him to play a random, 30 second riff of an old 80's song off the top of his head. But when he started strumming, a totally different sound reached her ears, the melody familiar and foreign at the same time. And then a quiet voice filled the air, one she had never heard before, and started to sing a song she knew all too well.

A small smile crept onto her face as she recognized the song. "Look After You" by The Fray. She was a big fan of theirs and of all the tracks on their _How to Save a Life_ CD, this one was her favorite and the fact that House not only knew it but could play it as well caused her to smile even more.

She listened, completely captivated by House's soft, almost delicate voice as he sang the chorus. Once again, his head was bowed and his gaze was focused steadily on the ground. Silently, she wondered where he had heard this song as he didn't seem like the type to listen to The Fray. Whatever the reason, she wasn't complaining and she closed her eyes, allowing herself to be consumed by the music.

_"There now, steady love,  
So few come and don't go  
Will you, won't you  
Be the one I'll always know  
When I'm losing my control  
The city spins around  
You're the only one  
Who knows, you slow it down"_

He kept his eyes trained on the ground, willing himself to look anywhere but at her, for fear that seeing her face might cause him to abandon his effort and he needed to say this now. Allowing his voice to crescendo, he continued to sing the second verse, his fingers changing their position on the neck of the guitar with practiced ease.

He had never wanted her to leave, not really, despite all of his comments and actions. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed her. But it wasn't her clerical skills he needed, or her coffee-making skills, or even her ability to get patients to do whatever she wanted them to do by simply being her sympathetic, overly-sensitive self. What he needed was for her to keep him on his feet, to keep his head above the water whenever he managed to slip.

Besides Wilson, she was the only one who was there when he needed someone the most. When the pain in his leg became absolutely excruciating and the world seemed to spiral out of control, she was there to slow everything down. When his life got so screwed up and all he wanted was for it to stop, she was there to reign him in. She kept him sane, or at least close to that, and gave him a reason to get up every morning and drag his sorry ass to the hospital. He never really knew why she put up with him and everything that he did, but he was grateful. He owed her that much, at least.

_"Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
I'll look after you"_

Eyes still closed, she found herself getting lost in whole other world as House sang. Never, in the four years that she had known him, had he expressed so much emotion as he was now and in a way, she almost felt as if she were invading his privacy. Completely forgetting about the rest of the world, she sat there, listening intently to the sound of his voice. There was something subtle, something hauntingly tragic behind his words. It was almost as if he were begging her to pick up on it, whatever it was. She listened even carefully. There, right as he sung the words "Be my baby". Like he was trying to tell her, trying to tell her that...

Cameron's eyes shot open as she realized that what he had been trying to say had been staring her right in the face. She stared, almost in disbelief, at House who had taken no notice to her reaction as his eyes were now closed. Watching him carefully, she saw what she had failed to notice before. The signs were all there and now she wondered how could she have missed it in the first place.

_"If ever there was a doubt  
My love, she leans into me  
This most assuredly counts  
She says most assuredly"_

_"It's always have and never hold  
You've begun to feel like home  
What's mine is yours to leave or take  
What's mine is yours to make your own"_

He continued to play, pouring every single emotion that he had pent up for the last three and a half years into every word he sang, every chord he played. He knew that he'd never get another chance like this so he was seizing it with both hands. What happened after, he'd deal with when he got there but right now he just needed to get this out. He didn't know what Cameron would do once he was done but he was giving her a choice, something that both terrified him and made his heart beat frantically out of excitement. There definitely was no going back now.

And so, as he sang the last chorus, he hoped that she would understand what he was trying to tell her.

_"Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
Oh, oh, oh, Oh, oh, oh be my baby  
I'll look after you"_

With one last strum, the song ended, the emotion of his voice left hanging in the air. Cameron watched as he slowly raised his eyes to meet hers for the first time since he started playing. She saw no arrogance in his gaze, no trace of his usual egomaniacal self. All she saw were two, piercing blue eyes filled with the years of hurt, longing, and vulnerability that this man had gone through all his life.

For what seemed like ages, they simply looked at each other, neither daring to move. _Say something, anything_, House urged silently. But the longer he sat there, more he knew she wouldn't. Tearing his eyes away from hers, he got up abruptly, allowing the guitar to swing to his side by the strap, and picked up his cane. He hopped off the stage, ignoring the pain in his leg as it began to cramp, and hastily began to walk away.

For a moment, Cameron didn't move, her eyes still fixed on the chair that House had occupied a few seconds earlier. But when she had finally come to her senses, she stood up and quickly began to follow her ex-boss's retreating form.

"House." she called out to his back. "House, wait."

Slowing down his uneven gait, he obliged but kept himself turned away from her. "What?"

"Please look at me." she said, her voice quiet.

He paused, his mind working furiously to tell himself to walk away but his legs just wouldn't get the message. Slowly, he turned around, his eyes downcast. "You got your song." he said softly.

"Did you mean it?"

He looked at her, deciding to play dumb. "Did I mean what?"

"House, please." she said, her tone borderline on begging. "I'm tired of play games. You sang that song because you had to tell me something. I'm asking if you meant it."

"Why?"

"Because I need to know."

House scoffed slightly, a small amount of anger and frustration welling up inside him. "That's your problem, isn't it? You always need to know. You always need to know everything about everyone 'cause you think that maybe if they open up to you enough you'll be able to save whatever little part of them that needs saving."

"It's a simple question."

"Not everything is so goddamn simple!" he yelled suddenly, causing Cameron to flinch, and he immediately regretted his outburst.

"I never said it was." she replied softly, her blue-green eyes willing him to understand. She looked away from him, unsure of how to phrase her point. "When I first met you," she said after a moment. "I thought that it was your job that made you who you were. Cold, distant, and complete bastard to everyone you met. You were brilliant. You didn't need anyone's help so you treated everyone like they didn't mean anything to you. For awhile I thought I was right. Then you started to break and I realized just how complex you really were. It wasn't anything you did that made you miserable. It was what other people did to you."

Upon remembering those incidents, House's eyes slipped away from hers, not wanting her to see his weakness.

"I know that life isn't simple." she continued. "But what I'm asking you is. I'm tired of chasing you, House. If you meant what you said, tell me now. Because I can't do this forever."

Of course he had meant what he said. He wasn't denying anything. But could he tell her that? He tried to get those words to form in his mouth but in the end he just couldn't do it. "I can't." he whispered, almost too sorry to say it.

She looked at him, her heartbreak clearly written on her face. "Why?"

"Because that's who I am." he replied sadly. "My life's been filled with the shittiest experiences anyone can ever have. I'm screwed up. I'm damaged. You know that. I played that song because that was the only way I could get anything out. Because when you've lived my life, nothing is easy to say anymore. Not even the simplest things." He paused and gazed directly into Camerom's eyes. "I can't give you what you want. I can't even give you what you need. But there's nothing I can do to change that." Of course he wanted to be with her but he didn't want to get hurt again and he wasn't going to change for her. If there had been a time when he would've changed it would've been years ago with someone completely different, but he didn't so he definitely wasn't going to now.

"I don't want you to change."

He sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Then what do you want from me?"

"I want you to be the arrogant, self-centered pain in the ass we all know you to be. I want you to be the doctor who doesn't give a crap about what anyone thinks of him. I want you to be the same man that I fell in love with three years ago." she answered, taking a step forward.

House was silent for a moment. "I'll hurt you." he said to the ground. "I'll make you feel absolutely miserable. You want to be with me but I'm telling you now, not everything is gonna be sunshine and daisies."

"I know." she said quietly, bringing up a hand to place gently on House's unshaven cheek.

Steeling himself, he leaned into her touch as she traced small circles with her thumb onto his skin. "Why would you want that?"

She offered him a small smile and stepped closer to him. "Not everything's simple." Leaning in, she inched her lips to his but stopped before they met and looked up at him, almost as if she were asking for his permission.

And as he looked into her clear blue-green eyes, he decided that he'd take the chance. Bringing his lips down to hers, he kissed her softly, slowly, and with everything that he felt for her. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer to him as her hands slipped through his hair. He knew it sounded clichИ but he never wanted it to end, wishing that life could just be as simple as this.

Much to his dismay, the kiss did end and they pulled away, both slightly breathless. For a moment, they just stood there, their foreheads leaning against the other. Then Cameron wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head lightly on his shoulder in one simple movement. His body tensed at first, reacting how it usually did to hugs, but slowly he allowed himself to relax, bringing his arms around her as well. And as he stood there, holding Cameron's small frame against his, he realized that this, right here, was as simple as he needed things to be.

* * *

A/N: If you're wondering what "Look After You" would sound like the way House was singing it, check out my profile for the link to the version by Tom Meny. That's actually the version I planned House to sing. Anyway, review please! They make me happy! ;) 


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